Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas approved for 100 percent casino capacity
Published: May 5, 2021, 03: 06 hrs.
Last updated: 5 May, 2021, 06: 21 h.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is the newest Southern Nevada hotel-casino granted approval to operate its gaming room at 100 percent capacity.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board granted Cosmopolitan the OK on Saturday to open the casino at full capacity. The approval came after the resort showed that 80 percent of its employees were vaccinated against coronavirus. Cosmopolitan's COVID - 19 response team reviewed the vaccination cards in accordance with the Las Vegas Review-Journal .
The Cosmopolitan is located on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip, just south of the Bellagio.
Cosmopolitan joins two Wynn Resorts properties on the Strip, Wynn Las Vegas and neighboring Encore, in allowing their gaming floors to open at 100 percent capacity. Wynn and Encore have been granted permission to open at full capacity as 88 percent of employees have been vaccinated.
Centers operating at full capacity may also remove Plexiglas partitions at gaming tables and slot machines. Masks are still required.
"Path to Normalcy"
On Saturday, the Gaming Control Board expanded Clark County's seating limit for gamblers to 80 percent, up from the previous state requirement of 50 percent. Las Vegas is located in Clark County.
The Board is authorized to increase capacity if hotel casinos take "measurable" steps to inoculate employees.
Casinos in other Nevada Counties are operating at 100 percent capacity. These counties include Douglas, Storey, Humboldt, Pershing, Lander, Elko, Eureka, White Pine, Lincoln and Nye.
Cosmopolitan CEO and president William McBeath said vaccination is "the only clear path to normalcy."
This is important not only for The Cosmopolitan, but also for our entire industry in ensuring that travelers can safely return to their destinations, "he said.
When the Cosmopolitan opened in December 2010, the $4.1 billion resort was the most expensive in Las Vegas history. That cost is dwarfed by the $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas. Resorts World opens June 24 west side of the Strip where Stardust Casino once stood.
USD 1 million bonus
Cosmopolitan offered a total of $1 million in bonuses if 80 percent of the workforce received at least one dose of the vaccine by May 1 According to the newspaper, the deadline has been extended to May 8. That extension could raise the premium total to more than $1 million.
An 80 percent vaccination rate means that workers receive
Should 85 percent of the workforce be vaccinated by May 8, the center will enter the names of those who have been vaccinated into a lottery for a $ 10 , 000 prize.
Cosmopolitan employees who refuse to be vaccinated must be tested weekly for coronavirus. Cosmopolitan has made on-site vaccination clinics available to its employees and their families.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Governor Steve Sisolak (DE) ordered casinos closed to reduce infection rates. After 11 weeks, he allowed casinos to reopen on June 4. In a tweet this week, the governor praised Cosmopolitan "for its creative approach to encouraging" employee vaccinations.
The governor said he wants the entire state to be at 100 by June 1.
